Israeli court postpones demolition of Bedouin Arab village

JERUSALEM – An Israeli government body says the Supreme Court has postponed the planned demolition of a sprawling Bedouin Arab village in the southern desert.

The Israel Lands Administration says that some 14 structures were to be demolished on Tuesday but the execution was put on hold after the court order. It says the structures in question were built illegally.

The case involves a long-running dispute between Israel and the formerly nomadic Bedouin of the Umm Al-Hiran village. Israel moved part of a Bedouin clan to the state-owned land 60 years ago, but now wishes to relocate residents to a government-designated Bedouin township.

An adjacent part of the village slated for future demolition is zoned for a new development catering to religious Jewish families with ties to the West Bank settlement movement.